This invention is directed to a mounting assembly for a stuffing horn and follower for a cylinder.
Elongated hollow stuffing tubes are well-known in the art. The tubes serve as a conduit upon which a hollow elongated casing material is mounted and through which meat emulsion is pumped for delivery into the casing. The attachment of a stuffing tube for operation has created challenges in the past which initially were addressed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,135,870 and 6,315,653 incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. While these patents represented an improvement, challenges still remained as the stuffing tube mounting assemblies were designed to match only one size of stuffing tube. To replace the tube was time consuming.
In addition, when the stuffing tube would be moved by an air cylinder, meat emulsion would build up on the cylinder affecting operation and requiring cleaning. Accordingly, a need exists in the art for a device that addressed these deficiencies.
Therefore, an objective of this invention is to provide a mounting assembly that accommodates different sizes of stuffing horns.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a mounting assembly that allows for greater speed and ease in substituting stuffing horns.
A still further objective of this invention is to provide a follower that reduces and/or eliminates the build-up of meat emulsion inside a cylinder.
These and other objectives will be apparent to one of skill in the art based on the following written description, drawings, and claims.